The Family Reunion - Softcover

Tusa, Tricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374422613 ISBN 13: 9780374422615

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1993

Synopsis

Could the two mysterious guests at the Beneada family reunion really be famous bellybutton experts?

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

The more the merrier is a philosophy adopted by the zany crew of characters in Tusa's ( Sherman and Pearl ) latest picture book. The Beneada family is so large that when a couple that no one recognizes shows up at the family reunion, they are quickly swept into the party. Rather than admit they don't know who the newest guests are, the Beneada clan tries to make Esther and Fester feel at home, meanwhile racking their collective brains for the long-lost relatives' identity. After much mayhem--including numerous astonishing doughnut impersonations and a spate of belly-button examinations--the mystery is solved. Though Tusa's text lacks a strong plot, it contains plenty of comic flair delivered in a deadpan tone. Softly hued watercolors depict gangly and sometimes potbellied aunts, uncles and cousins sporting an array of not-so-flattering wardrobes. Busy scenes provide lots of hilarious detail when family members sample party food or share such talents as accordion-playing, dancing or imitating a rock. In addition to its harmless-joke quality, this silly outing may reassure readers that their own families aren't so unusual. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Like a suburban version of The Relatives Came, the Beneadas throng in, bearing casseroles, drinks, towering cakes, a trumpet, an accordion, a violin; they turn up the lights and settle down to regale each other with stories, photograph people they almost remember, exchange confidences, and commune with themselves by meditating or exercising. Into this mel‚e of individuality come Esther and Fester, but no one is sure--who are they? The cousins from the circus? The famous doughnut makers? The distant cousins, escaped from the pen? No, the pair eventually point out--they live here: the Beneadas are at the wrong address. No problem: the whole crowd marches from 236 Rosebud to 239, taking their inadvertent hosts' chips along. Pure comedy--especially Tusa's wonderfully pointed cartoon caricatures of family types in full, overebullient swing. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0374422613
• ISBN 13: 9780374422615
• Binding: Paperback